Chasing A New Beginning
by CrescentDragon22
Summary: "I need your help." Diana Crock spent her life trying to remain away from anything that would tie her down to anything or anyone. But when a friend calls for help that brings her to care after a comatose man that was struck by lightning, she never quite imagined that she would be pulled into a world of meta humans and adventure. Is that enough to keep her. (Also posted on Wattpad)
1. The Day he Awoke

**PLEASE READ!**

 **There will be rarely any scenes of Arrow. I've seen spoilers but other then that I don't have much interest in watching that specific show. Also, in this story I renamed Artemis as Diana, seeing as the Roman name to Artemis is in fact Diana.**

 **This story is not directly linked to the Young Justice show. What it does is incorporate YJArtemis into the CW-Verse with a few changes to her character. However, I would like to stay as true to her personality as I can so please comment if I went too out of character because some is plot and other times it just kind of happens.**

 **ENJOY!**

A banging sounded from the other side of the walls. Loud moans and groans produced from the other room were loud enough to be heard from where Diana laid in a curled position. Her mind slowly shaking away the haze of unconsciousness that drifted slowly in her head. Groaning, she stretched her aching muscles and covered her ears from the disrupting noise.

Slowly, she sat up from the position she was in and rubbed her aching eyes. The curls of her long blonde hair fell over her face and Diana moved to stand over to the wall where the moans grew louder and louder. "Hey! I don't care how big that morning wood is! If you don't keep it down, I'll go over there and show you just how big my foot is!"

More banging occurs and Diana can hear the moans, louder and louder.

Deeply annoyed, Diana makes her move and stops only for a minute to put on some pants. Diana grumbled as she made her way out of her apartment and to the neighbors door. Her hand moving up to knock on the door and confront the source of her annoyance when suddenly her phone started to ring. Looking down at the caller ID Diana groaned, just when she was about to put down these rabbits.

"This is Diana Crock-"

Loud banging, "Harder," moans erupted from the other side of the door.

"I swear that's not me. My neighbor just really-"

" ! I couldn't care less about you or your neighbors sex or lack of sex life, need I remind you that you have much more important matters to address here. "

Diana silently sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose between her unoccupied fingers, "Of course not , I don't know what I was thinking." From one ear Diana could here the buzzing of the phone line where her boss was listening carefully. However, her other ear was still held captive by the high pitch moaning that she was sure loud enough to be heard by the chair bound man.

"I expect to see you here within the next half hour ."

"Of course, I'll be there soon."

The sound of the ended phone line reached her ear along with the noise beyond the door and Diana mentally slapped herself at the uncomfortable position she found herself in.

How embarrassing.

"Have a nice day!" Diana smiled politely in response as she took her drinks and made a move for the door. Only to be stopped by a voice calling out her name, "Diana!" Iris West ran, catching her attention before she left the store. "Diana, hey! Do you have a moment?"

Diana discreetly looked at the watch around her wrist, checking the time before turning her attention back to the young waitress. "Sure, what's up?" Iris released a small breath, heartbeat slightly accelerated from trying to reach the blonde. "I was um..." She began, "I was wondering if Barry's doing any better." The tone of her voice was hopeful yet fearful at the same time.

Eight months ago, one month after the accident with the Particle Accelerator, Diana had received a call urging her to the still recovering Central City. After coming, Diana remembered her bewilderment as she was prompted to be the personal doctor to one patient, Barry Allen, at S.T.A.R labs working for Harrison Wells. Remembered how she initially rejected the position because of the responsibility that would ground her to Central City. She had denied the position multiple times, despite Harrison Wells persistence to have her.

It was Joe and Iris West that brought Diana to remain in Central City.

Despite having no blood relations to the comatose man, both held deep love and affection for him. Something that tugged at Diana's heart and the cause to her accepting the offer Wells had given to stay despite her initial rebuke.

Diana gave her a soft yet somewhat tight lipped smile that laid small on her face. "His vitals are stable, his heart beat is a little fast but nothing I'm particularly worried about. Its also been months since his last seizure too. In all I think he's doing well for a man struck by lightning ." Iris released a relieved breath, a small smile gracing her face as she thought of the improved condition her foster brother was in. Then she looked up, hopeful, "Do you think he'll wake up soon?"

Diana resisted the urge to flinch at the question. Barry Allen has not been awake for the past eight months she was here as well as the month prior to her arrival. Will he wake up? " Nothing's impossible."

Iris hesitated for a second before she smiled brightly at the response, as if trapped in a fond memory. "You're right!" She stated optimistically, "Nothing's impossible. Bye Diana!"

She left to continue her work and Diana waved awkwardly from the position her hands were in as she held the cups of somewhat warm beverages. Already spending too much time in one placed then he wished, Diana pushed open the doors to Jitters to leave. Outside she was met with the sight of multiple buildings, skyscrapers, and a bright blue sky that was such a far stretch between the dark and dreary clouds that held the city in darkness. That darkness that had made and corrupted her hometown.

Driving down the road to work Diana never ceased to wonder if this is what it used to be. Is this what she used to be? Before the night had come and before their death.

Maybe if, if she had been, then her people wouldn't be the monsters they are today. (And Diana knew that no matter how far she traveled, she would always be a part of her people too.)

"Can't read my, can't read my! No he can't read my poker face! She's got me like nobody.

Can't read my, can't read my! No he can't read my poker face! She is gonna let nobody.

P p p poker face, p p p po-"

"Cisco! I'm supposed to be bringing my patient back to health, not bleed his ears out!" Diana exclaimed as the booming voice of Lady Gaga assaulted her ears. Cisco who slurped loudly on the beverage Diana had so graciously purchased for everyone did nothing but shrug, "What! He likes this song."Diana gave him a sideways look. Cisco looked at her, then he looked back to whatever machine he was fiddling with. Then he looked back again and gave a double take, "What? He likes this song!"

"And you know that, how?" Cisco scoffed as if silently asking, how the heck can you not know, " Well Diana, a doctor must always know his," He stopped for a moment, "or her patients. So unlike you and Caitlin, I did the most sensible and responsible thing and hacked his Facebook." The obvious yet not-so-obvious duh came without actual saying.

Diana raised an eyebrow at his minor act of felon, "You are so right because breaking into the Facebook page of a man struck by lightning just to find out what type of music he likes us just so sensible and responsible." She sarcastically replied. However dear Cisco Ramon had not seemed to understand the nature of her words because all he did was suck in his lips and lift his shoulders to meet his chin length brunette hair.

The only thing Diana really could do was sigh over the sound of Lady Gaga and shake her head at the male. She had a patient to attend to.

Looking down at the unconscious body, Diana could only frown at what she saw and called out to a figure walking into the room. "Caitlin! Did you-" She was stopped mid-sentence. Caitlin walked towards her quickly and gently grasped both of Diana's hand in her own. "I know! I know you said don't worry about it and yes I know it's your job but I was here early and you weren't in yet and really I didn't want to bother you so I just decided to go on ahead and check myself-"

"Caitlin!"

Diana stopped her in the middle of her fast pasted run-on sentence so that the women before her could slightly release her grasp from the lack of air. "Breathe." Caitlin's face froze for a second, then she took in a deep and slow breath and then let it out. Diana squeezed the lightly tanned hands that were over hers. "Look I'm glad to know that if anything happens while I'm away, you will look after my patient, however," Caitlin's mouth opened wide, trying to get a rebuttal in before Diana shut her down. "However," Diana repeated more strongly, tightening her grip on the hand over hers. "He is the reason why I'm here. This is my job, he is the reason why I'm here. If I let you do all the work then why should I be here?"

Caitlin smiled tightly. Her thinly plucked eyebrows furrowing into the smile, her small hand lifting just to gently slap back down onto Diana's. "I really think you should reconsider that. You know, we could use you down here." Diana smiled fondly, releasing the grasp their hands held to turn around and tend to her patient. "I doubt it," She said, "I'm no scientist. What would a scientific research lab-"

"And tech."

"Thank you Cisco." She called out sarcastically. "That's what I'm here for." With a thumb raised proudly in the air.

"Anyways," Diana continued roughly, "What would a Doctor like me, be doing here?" She wondered this silently everyday.

"I get what your saying," Caitlin quietly sighed as she turned to the table that was opposite to Diana so that she could get some work done. "I just," she paused, " I can't help but think that you belong here, with us."

You don't belong anywhere.

Diana chuckled quietly. "Yeah, doing what? Feeding, changing, and washing a grown man for the rest of his life."

"Nah," Cisco exclaimed loudly over the looping music, "You can be the labs DJ. No, wait! No, that's my job. I don't want your mopey music killing my vibe." Diana rolled her eyes at his 'helpful input' and smiled as she checked the IV connected to her patient. Rolling his hair between her fingers, frowning lightly as she did so. He needs a haircut soon.

Running her hand through his hair, observing the length it had grown to since the last time she had cut it for the man. Pinching the strands of hair between her fingers, Diana felt a sudden shock that had her hand flinching back slightly in shock. That was the second since she started treating him.

Diana sighed, continuing her check up on the patients body. Caitlin continued with her work. Cisco sang out of tune with the lyrics to the song. Then Caitlin froze and frowned. "Why is this song playing?"

Cisco, waving a screwdriver in the air explained, "He likes this song." And Caitlin frowned, glancing over to her long time friend in question, "How would you know that?" Diana released a small puff of laughter as she remembered the answer she heard in earlier moments. "It said so on his Facebook page. Am I the only one doing research here?" It was this time that Diana decided to cut in the conversation, "No. Your just the only one who decided to cyber stalk the man in a coma."

"Hey! He can hear you! Man's got feelings and I don't want him waking up thinking I'm some cyber stalker." In the background to his rant the music kept playing it's hip hop beat. Looping over again for however long it had.

"Auditory functions are known to be the last to degenerate." Caitlin said thoughtfully.

"Can't read my! Can't read my! No he can't see through my poker face!"

"Oh my god!"

With a loud gasp, the patient whipped into the air causing Caitlin and Cisco to twist around in shock. Diana jumped back in surprise, her hands reflexively raising to defend herself. From the other side of her Diana saw Cisco move as he reached to call out, "Mr. Wells you need to come down here, like right now."

Barry Allen was awake.


	2. Quick Recoveries

"Where am I?" Barry Allen questioned. Groggy and confused, waking in a place that his mind could not yet fathom while surrounded by people that he was not familiar with anyway. People he was not familiar with that were suffocating him in both proximity and question. People he doesn't know! Or at least, he didn't think he knew any of them. At the moment, it was hard for Barry to tell. His mind feeling as if he had just woken from a deep, year long nap.

"He's up!" Caitlin being the first to move had exclaimed what was obviously being seen as if to confirm it into her mind in disbelief. It was not unusual for a person to wake out of a coma, though depending on the damage said person has suffered the time it takes for them to wake from their coma varies. However, for one struck by lightning, as rare a case that is; she could honestly say that no one had expected him to wake up. Although according to Diana's records and observations, this one was a strange case.

" I need you to calm down." Diana said to the panicked man, her hands gently holding on to his shoulders to keep him in place. While Cisco was busy calling Wells to the Cortex, Caitlin quickly walked over to where Diana stood next to Barry and handed her the small flashlight. Only not checking herself because Diana stood to push her back as not to completely overwhelm the previously comatose man.

Diana tried to have the man settle down, "Please calm down. I need you to breathe, you're okay, everything is fine. We just need to check to see if you've suffered any damage that we couldn't gather while you slept." Barry looked puzzled, already overwhelmed by just the sound of three unfamiliar people before him. "Damage?" His eyes looked down, checking for himself, unsure of what the woman before him was talking about. Then looking down he realized something. He wasn't wearing a shirt.

Barry tried to get up but the hands of the blonde before him kept stopping him, asking him to calm down. "Whoa! Dude chill," the standing male cut in, "You're at S.T.A.R Labs!" Barry rushed his head to face the unknown trio before him, turning to the only male figure that had spoken to him, "S.T.A.R Labs? Who are you people?"

Always the more friendly one of the trio, Cisco was the one who began the introductions, "I'm Cisco and uh... that's Caitlin- , and this is-" Diana, always being the one to take her own initiative quickly intercepted Cisco so that she could introduce herself. " , so Allen how do you feel?" At this point Barry was STILL infinitely overwhelmed. Why was he here again and did that lady- Dr. Crock, just call him Allen? "I'm fine. What- what am I doing here?"

Again, Cisco jumped into attention. "You were struck by lightning!" The excitement evident in voice made it seem as if the fact that Barry Allen was struck by lightning was just THE coolest thing ever!

Still confused and now incredibly shocked, Barry's face twisted into a chubby frown. Finally forcing the people surrounding him to let him stand. The recently awoken man rushed forward, not knowing where to go when his eye was caught by the pale image that he saw in the mirror ahead. "Lightning," Barry began slowly, "gave me abs."

"The abs," Diana hummed, "Yes you seem to have invented the electrocution diet. Now we can thank you for the future cause to people everywhere clinging to metal poles during thunderstorms." Grasping her stethoscope, Diana circled around Barry until she chose to pull gently on his shoulder, tugging her patient backwards until the edge of the hospital bed forced him to sit.

Everything seemed strange to Barry. His mind was moving faster than the speed of light, yet his eyes had become so drowsy and slow that it seemed like everything around him was moving in slow motion. Barry slowly exhaled from behind his clenched teeth as he willed himself to stop the growing need to hyperventilate, "I don't feel so good." He felt like he could almost throw up. Caitlin hovered around as Diana checked on her recently awoken patient, "You were in a comma."

"A comma? For how long?"

"Nine months." A new voice came into the room. From the entrance to the cortex sat a man in a wheelchair, posture straight and an air of confidence that surrounded his entire being. Barry nearly choked at the sight of him, "You're- you're Harrison Wells," He gaped, "Oh my god you're Harrison Wells! I love your work! I have read all of your articles and theories." Wells smiled gently as Barry fanboyed over him, he took off his glasses and said, "Yes, well welcome back, Mr. Allen. We have a lot to discuss, follow me. Cisco, get this man a shirt"

With that Cisco gave Barry a sweatshirt proudly labeled with S.T.A.R Labs and Barry quickly placed it on his person to hide his upper body from the other people in the room and left to follow after his idol. Diana watched them leave. Sighing as she watched her patient of nine months walk away, Diana looked towards the two people that she had spent so much time with during her stay at Central City.

"What's with the sad face?" Cisco exclaimed, "Barry's awake! We should be celebrating." Caitlin's head turned slightly upwards at his words, "Yeah, I can't believe, he's actually awake. It's a miracle." Diana nodded slowly, "Yeah, it is."

"Your physiology has been altered." Wells said when he joined the rest of his employees with the man who had previously been in a coma following him like a duckling in wonder of the place around him. Caitlin added her expertise to what her employer had said, "Your muscles should be atrophied, but instead they're in a state of chronic and unexplained rapid cellular regeneration." As Caitlin explained the scientific's of what was happening, Barry's lips turned down in confusion, "I feel... normal."

Diana nodded from her place leaning against the wall. "Yes but most normal people would have at least thanked us for keeping them alive for the past nine months. Who do you think bathed you while you were in a coma?" Diana teased playfully, amused at the panic that seemed to come over her patient's face. Before Barry could attempt to stutter out a spluttered response, Cisco cut in to save the poor man's soul from the embarrassment he could see coming. "It was our pleasure to take care of you." He said, "And it was nice to meet your family."

"My family? You mean, the West."

"Iris came to see you quite often." Wells said. Diana thought back to the cafe waitress and every time she came to visit her brother figure, she looked completely wrecked. "She talks a lot." Caitlin told Barry from experience no doubt. Probably the reason why she would walk out so soon after Diana or Cisco's arrival whenever Iris had come. Cisco laughed as he lightly elbowed Diana from his side, "Also, she is hot." He sang. Diana swore she could see a glare coming from Barry but he said nothing and just stood up to leave. "I need to go."

Wells tried to move, almost hastily; reaching out to the retreating figure with one hand, "You can't go," He said. Diana met his eyes as he looked at her just from the edge of his own eyes, catching her attention and confusion. "We need to do more tests. You're still going through changes. There's so much we don't know- "

"I'm fine, really." Barry insisted, cutting Wells off from whatever it was that he was going to say. Then he turned his attention to address Diana's earlier statement, "And thanks for saving my life." Then he simply walked away, leaving the crew in awkward silence.

"Oh..." He comes back, "Can I keep the sweatshirt?"

Wells raises his hand as if calling upon his patience , "Just keep the shirt." Barry nodded and left once more.

Diana then coughed and shifted slightly from her position on the wall, "I guess now wouldn't be the best time to ask for my pay before I leave." The entire room looked towards her in disbelief before Wells looked away and shook his head. Nope, not a good time.

Barry Allen is awake. A victim from the infamous particle acceleration explosion caused nine months ago by, Harrison Wells, her current employer. Diana sighed as she ran the palm of her hand along her forehead. For once it was quiet, no noise could reach her ears except for the sound of the voice that spoke from the other line of the phone placed on her ear. "Barry Allen is awake," She said. "He's awake. What am I supposed to do?" She's out of an excuse.

From the other end of the phone she could hear the static of a breathy chuckle sound from the other person. "I don't think I really need to tell you that," He said. Diana glared from where she sat, imagining that smug look on his face and wishing she could be there to just smack it right off, he really could be such a _dick_.

"Look, we all believe in you. We know that you can do this or why else would you be on this case?" Diana played with the ends of her long, blonde hair, she had been wondering the same thing. Diana rubbed her eyes. "You've said that before," frustrating as it was, she knew that her reason for being in Central City was because they were confident that she could do this. After all they were a family that took no risk, not of each other at least and hopefully not of her.

"I'll figure it out," She said stressed. "I just wanted to update on what's happening here in Central. It's hard to tell but I think I've been here long enough to tell... Harrison Wells, he wants something." The other voice hummed, "And the Particle Accelerator?" Diana thought for a moment, "I don't know."

"Keep a look out," He said, "And Artemis... be careful." The call ended and Diana lingered on his words. Artemis, be careful... Artemis.

Another call took her attention and Diana stared at the screen again, Harrison Wells. "Dr. Wells?" She answered the phone. " ," He spoke as sharply as ever, "I hope you haven't packed your things yet." Diana looked around the small apartment, exactly as it had been in the morning, nothing moved. She couldn't exactly leave yet anyways. "No sir."

"Good," He said, "Come to S.T.A.R Labs, you still have a job to do."

"So, what exactly are we here for?" Diana asked. She sat at the doorway of the vehicle that they had parked in some vacant area around the city. The wind blew lightly, brushing the hairs of all those around. Wells briefly took off his glasses, rubbing the dust from his eyes before placing them back onto the bridge of his nose, "Well Ms. Crock, Mr. Allen here has been faced with seemingly sudden impossibilities after being released from our care. We are here to find what that is." From besides him, Caitlin fiddled with the tablet in her hand, readying all her calculations for their test run. "Do you really think he can do it?" Caitlin asked out of curiosity.

"I believe anything is possible," Wells responded to her question, "And maybe after this, you will too." Diana slightly groaned at his answer as she rubbed her face raw with her hands. "Well I think this is ridiculous. How do we know he's telling the truth? We all know how starstruck he is over Dr. Wells," She gestured towards said man, "If this is a lie just so he could spend more time with his idol then this is really just a waste." Caitlin looked up from her tablet and turned to face her female friend as she smiled tentatively, "We've been wasting the last nine months. What's one more day? Besides, at least this gives you a reason to stay a little longer."

Diana returned her smile with one of her own, slightly smaller and underlining with guilt. Cisco walked in front of Diana at the entrance and tapped on the truck. "How does it fit?" Diana looked behind her where Barry Allen finally emerged with a giant over-sized helmet, goggles, pads, and a runners shorts and shirts. Frankly, he looked like an awkward high school nerd trying to prepare for bullies in gym class. "Looking hot," Diana told him catching his attention from below. He gave a small smile but said nothing, adding to the awkwardness.

"At least you'll be moving so fast that no one will see you," Cisco joked to ease the tension in the air with a smile. "What happened to this place?" Barry asked, looking around. Diana slightly wondered the same thing, between her jobs she hadn't had the chance to catch up with all of Central City's history, much less an airline from Coast City that parked in Central and got shut down for some reason. Though she supposed that worked for her cover, seeing as everyone knew that she wasn't from Central. Cisco spoke, " Ferris Air sold it off. There was an incident in Coast City. A crash. One of their test pilots disappeared." Diana remembered that, it was all over the news but it was a long time ago and Diana was pretty sure that the pilot had a thing going with Ferris's daughter. Cisco decided to change the subject. Diana moved and Cisco eased Barry down the stairs to introduce him to the aisle where he would be running.

"See," He said, "You thought the world was slowing down, it wasn't. You were moving so fast, that it only looked like everyone around you was standing still. Dr. Well will be monitoring your energy output, Caitlin your vitals, and Diana here is on standby in case you like pull a muscle or something and that over there is your position," He said, pointing to a spot in front of the groups small blue canopy. Before moving Barry asked, "What do you do?" Proud of what he does, Cisco smiled, "I make the toys man, check it. This," He pulled out a small device that was designed with what almost looked like a lightning bolt on the front. "This is a two-way headset with a camera I modified, typically designed to combat battlefield impulse noise, or in your case, a potential sonic boom. Which by the way would be awesome!" He sang, walking way so that Caitlin could check the system to record his vitals.

"What," She spoke coldly, not daring to glance up at Barry even for a brief second. "Nothing," Barry said, put off by his own surprise, "I just notice that you don't smile too much." Finally Caitlin dared to look up with an aura that brought such a chill in the air that you could almost see ice. "My once promising career in bio-engineering is over. My boss is in a wheelchair for life." They turned to face Dr. Wells, "The explosion that put you in a coma killed my fiance and now that you're awake the only female friend that I've made in a long time is out of a job and will be leaving Central City to find other work... This blank expression feels the way to go." Barry said nothing, a guilt forming at the pit of his stomach as he looked at Caitlin's retreating figure as she went over to talk to Diana.

"Mr. Allen," Wells drew his attention away, "While I am fully invested in exploring the full range of your abilities, I do caution restraint." Barry nodded and moved into a runner's position.

Looking behind him, Cisco waited for a thumbs up before he nodded, "Okay Barry, whenever you're ready." It was only moments, Barry shuffling into a comfortable, runners position, the rest of the team waiting behind to gather data on an impossible claim, but Barry Allen did it.

In a flash Barry Allen rushed down the aisle, sending a rush of wind at the dust of his feet that blew Diana and the rest of her coworkers to the floor. Cisco laughed, feeling a rush flow through his veins, "Whoo!" He cheered as he looked back to check on everyone else. "He just passed 200 miles per hour." At that Caitlin stood up, staring through the binoculars at the sight before her as she uttered, "It's not possible."

Diana stared as well, mouth slightly gaped at the sight, her eyes could barely catch up, only seeing a yellow streak in the path but then she saw at which direction he was headed and that he wasn't slowing down, "shit." And then Barry Allen who may be fastest man alive, crashed. "Shit," She called again and ran over to check on the injured man so that she could tend to his wounds. Three hours later they found themselves back into the safety of indoors.

"It looks like you had a distal radius fracture," Diana displayed an x-ray scan they took earlier of what was Barry's injury on the tablet. "Had?" Barry asked confused and Diana almost smiled at his response, he always seemed confused. "It healed," She told him, "In three hours. Though I can't say the same for the helmet." He looked over at the red helmet in Cisco's hand. The once bright ruby was now painted a dark black, damaged. " I can pay for that." Diana pinned him with a pointed look, "I've seen your shoes, trust me, you can't." Cisco laughed, "You really need to learn how to stop, " He chuckled as Diana left, but remained in the room as Wells rolled in.

"What happened out there today? You were moving pretty well when something caused you to lose focus." Barry looked at him and as he started to speak, a far away look came over him, "I was remembering something." When he noticed the look that Wells gave him to elaborate his story and then with a wavering voice and a troubled sound he decided to continue. "When I was eleven, my mother was murdered." He started to tell his story, drawing both Caitlin and Cisco from what they were doing. The atmosphere was growing tense and Diana, like the others, turned her attention towards Barry Allen as if she didn't know the story. As if back at her home, there weren't hundreds of others with a similar story.

"It was late. A sound woke me up. I came downstairs and I... I saw what looked like a ball of lightning. Inside the lightning, I saw a man. He killed my mother." He looked away briefly, the memory being too painful yet he continued anyways. "They arrested my dad...he's still sitting in Iron Heights for her murder. Everyone, the cops, the shrinks, they all told me what I saw was impossible. But what if the man who killed my mother was like me?" Diana could see it in his body language, his eyes, and hear it in the tremble of his voice, this was a man desperate, desperate to solve what happened that day as an eleven year old boy. A desperation to find the one who had murdered the people- person he loved, a desperation that Diana knew too well and heard too many times.

From the way things looked, Diana believed that her time in Central City would extend for quite some time. From experience, Diana knew that Barry and his desperation would continue to be her excuse to stay, he couldn't resist, not when the power to bring his mother's murder to justice was now presenting itself.

Barry asked, "What if the man who killed my mother was like me?" And slowly, Dr. Wells gave a small smile to Barry, "I think I can say unequivocally that you are one of a kind."

"His kinetic energy output was nearing 2500 joules." Caitlin spoke as the crew stood, huddled up in S.T.A.R Labs with Wells at a distance away yet still remaining in the room. Cisco added to Caitlin's analysis, "He passed 600 miles per hour." He smiled, sending the others a cheeky looked as he bit off some Twizzlers, "I guess he told the truth earlier after all." Diana groaned at his words and from her pocket she pulled out a Hamilton, "Take your ten dollars," She said, playfully throwing the bill at him. "I can't believe I lost this bet." Caitlin looked at the both of them in minor disbelief, "You both put a bet on him." Diana and Cisco looked at her as if to say, of course we did!

Caitlin decided to change the subject, "So, since it looks like you'll be having a patient here again (because Barry Allen WILL be coming back) do you think you could stay for just a little longer?" Diana hummed as if contemplating what she was saying just so that she could draw out the anticipation, "Yeah I guess so. That is... If you'll still have me at least." Cisco cut in, "Are you kidding girl? You are welcome here anytime, unless you mess with my babies, that's a no, no." And from his place Wells looked at Diana, "You, Ms. Crock, are apart of our team. Cisco is right, you're welcome here for as long as you want." Content with his words, both Cisco and Caitlin smiled.

While they were talking, the doors burst open and out came Barry Allen looking completely wrecked. How did he get back in the Labs? Did someone give him Clarence or was the security just that bad?

"I wasn't the only one affected by the Particle Accelerator explosion, was I?" Dr. Wells, the closest to Barry at that moment, did nothing but glance at his employees who all looked back. "We don't know," Was his response with an added, "For sure."

"You said the city was safe." Barry said enraged, "That there was no residual danger. But that's not true. What really happened that night? " He felt lied to. He thought that everything was going to be fine and that he could move past this but today he saw a man die. That man died because of them, because of the Particle Accelerator explosion and the people it killed and the people it affected. People like him.

There was a long beat of silence. A story about to be told that even Diana with all her time here, hadn't had the honor of hearing quite so in depth yet. She wasn't here for the exact story. She was here for the people, for Wells, for Barry, and for people like Barry. "The accelerator went active." Wells told the story and from the screen behind was a layout, a design to the interior of the Particle Accelerator. "We felt like heroes. Then it all went wrong." From besides her, Diana could see Caitlin tense and on her other side she could see Cisco, hi head falling down as if hoping that his hair could cover his shame.

"The dimensional barrier ruptured unleashing unknown energies into our world. Anti-matter, Dark energy, x elements..." Barry then interrupted Dr. Wells story, being a man of science himself and not finding what was being said to make sense. "That's all theoretical."

Remembering the events from earlier, Diana decided to counter for Wells, Barry was hitting too many crucial points and the guilt in the room was just too overwhelming, "How theoretical are you?"

"We mapped the dispersion throughout Central City, though we have no real way of identifying exactly who or what was exposed we've been searching for other meta-humans like yourself." continued where he left off but his explanation only seemed to add to Barry's confusion. "Meta-humans?" And Caitlin finally chose to speak up, tired of just listening to the conversation, "That's what we're calling them. People like you." Barry looked at her startled, "People like me? So you knew what the Particle Accelerator did, to me, to god knows who else."

"We had a hunch," Wells corrected.

"That's why I'm here," Diana added, speaking her half-truth. "For metahumans like you flash-boy."

Barry looked at her, at all of them in disbelief. How do they all seem to just be taking this in stride? "I saw one of them today. Clyde Mardon. He's a bank robber. And he can control the weather." He told them because they have to help him, they have to.

Cisco shook his head at the news in a moment of disbelief of his own, "This just keeps getting cooler."

"This is not cool!"

Cisco flinched back from his position hunched over the desk and Diana being the one between him and Caitlin, placed a comforting hand on his back as the smile fell from his face. "A man died." Barry continued, he could recall the tragedy that to him seemed so long ago yet at the same time felt as if it had just happened. "Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did. From the storm cloud. And he's still out there. We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else."

Barry started to walk away but Dr. Wells had called out his name, Barry expected their help. "Barry!" Wells called out to the retreating form, "That's a job for the police." Barry countered him because he knew that nothing would get done, "I work for the police." Nothing is being done. "As a forensic assistant," The older man countered back, slowly his chair rolled up to meet Barry where he was standing. "You're responsible for him- for them!" For me.

"What' s important is you!" Wells had never raised his voice, not that anyone had heard or had seen at such a degree, "I lost everything," He said and both Caitlin and Cisco seemed to tense, thinking back to far memories held close in their heart of that night less than a year ago.

"I lost my company.

I lost my reputation.

I lost my freedom.

And then you broke your arm and it healed in three your body could be the map to that new world. Vaccines, medicines, genetic therapies... all treasures buried in your cells. We can't risk losing everything just so you can go out and play hero." Wells took a breath as if a weight on his chest that had sat there for much too long was finally being lifted and he could finally say his next dew words in comfort. "You're not a hero. You're just a young man who was struck by lightning."

For not the first time that day, the air was tense and chilled. Barry had left with a struck look on his face. He turned his attention away from Harrison Wells, his idol, his hero, and gave it to the trio in the back, who said nothing, before he left the facility with a face that tried to hold tears from falling from his eyes.

Caitlin held her face between her hands and when Cisco tried to reach out to her she stood up and walked away. "Excuse me, " She mumbled. Cisco being the friend he is quickly left, chasing after Caitlin in her time of need, leaving Diana alone with their employer. "Ms. Crock- Dr. Crock," He spoke, calling her by her title at which he rarely addresses her as and from the spot where Barry Allen had left him, he moved his chair towards her and Diana walked towards him to save them both the time.

"I understand if you are having doubts now that Mr. Allen is awake. It seems that all of my mistakes are finally starting to catch up with me." He closed his eyes and in a moment of seeming vulnerability, he pulled his hand up and rubbed his eyes as if wiping away the silent tears of his regret.

Slowly but surely, he composed himself once more.

"However, it would be.. an honor," He spoke, struggling to find the right words to say, "If you were to stay with us- Cisco, Caitlin, and myself- and to help us fix our mistake. They can't do this without you." They, he says. Diana sits down in a chair closer to her employer, "Dr. Wells, I thought you said that we won't be helping ." Wells nodded, acknowledging his earlier argument with Barry only moments ago.

"Yes I did," He said, "But this has been buried for far too long, sooner or later things are going to change and by the looks of it, change is happening now. You saw Caitlin and Cisco, this has ruined their lives. They won't find peace until they solve this, until they help those people." This time Diana nodded, understanding what he meant. Caitlin and Cisco were wreaked, the day that Particle Accelerator exploded the guilt had taken over them and ripped away a part of themselves with the lives of its victims.

"So what do I have to do with this?"

Wells looked directly into her eyes, "Yes well I recall that you hold special knowledge and experience with cases such as this one." Diana nodded slowly, cautiously, she shouldn't be as tense as she is. "I just want you to continue the work you do now, helping those like Barry Allen." For a moment, Diana entered her gaze with him unsure, she smiled, "It would be my honor."

A buzzing rang, "You should get that," Wells said, "Ms. Crock... Thank you." He left, leaving Diana to whatever of her own devices so that she could answer the test message on her phone.

 **Cisco**

 **\- Meet us in the Cortex.**

"Your metahuman have been busy," Barry said in a much calmer demeanor than his earlier visit. It wasn't that long ago since his last visit but apparently something had happened since then to have him change his mind and approach in a much calmer demeanor. Finally, Diana noted, both Caitlin and Cisco seemed calm, the intensity of everything finally slowing down.

"I'm not blaming you. I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen. I know you all lost something, but I need to catch Mardon and I can't do it without you." The trio of S.T.A.R Labs looked towards each other. Diana could practically see Cisco thinking while Caitlin's face lined with worry as she was probably thinking of Wells and how he hadn't wanted them to get involved. Diana wanted to see where this would take them.

Cisco smiled at them, "If we're going to do this, I have something that might help." Cisco ran out of the room, Caitlin followed him in a walk. Diana and Barry were the last to leave the room but before they followed after, Diana stopped Barry by placing a hand on his chest. "Don't hurt them." And before Barry could gather the wits to respond, Diana left the slightly stunned Barry to chase after her two friends.

"This is something I've been playing with," Cisco said as he introduced his new toy, a suit. "It's designed to replace the turnouts firefighters traditionally wear. It's made of a reinforced tri-polymer, it's heat and abrasive resistant so when you're moving at high-velocity speeds, it won't shred like your normal clothing." For something so advanced, the suit looked to be nothing special and so Cisco shrugged. "I thought if S.T.A.R. Labs could do something nice for the community, people wouldn't be so angry at anymore."

"This suit will help me fight Mardon?"

" Yeah and it has built in sensors so we can track your vitals and stay in contact with you."

"Thanks... So you built this to help firefighters."

"Oh," Diana thought back fondly on her time in Central, "I dated a fireman two boyfriends ago."

"Zatara?" Caitlin questioned.

"God no! We could barely get along. It was Cameron."

"Cameron," Said Cisco, "That guy was a jerk!"

Diana shrugged, what could she say? She's been here for nine month and just had to try out those Central City boys even if they weren't exactly Central City boys.

"Focus." Barry called back to their attention, "How do we find Mardon?"

"Right," Caitlin picked off, running after her tablet, "I've been tracking meteorological abnormalities over Central City. I just got a ping from the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite. Atmospheric pressure dropped 20 millibars in a matter of seconds." Barry moved next to her to look at the screen, fully invested to do more than picking up the clues that the bad guys leave after committing a crime. It was time to stop crimes before they succeed and to put the guys behind bars.

"Where?" He asked.

"A farm," Caitlin told him, "Just west to the city."

"Hey speedy," Diana smirked, " try not to get yourself killed." Then she turned her attention towards the rest of the crew, "Let's get this over with people."

"Barry," Cisco tested from the mic, "Barry, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Barry gasped, the wind crackled the mic from his place on the call and he seemed to be panting from the rush of adrenaline in his veins. "Loud and clear." Cisco nodded from his place at S.T.A.R Labs and from the mic the others could hear Barry just as clear from their stations with Caitlin checking for any changes in his body and Diana checking for changes in his specific health.

"Barry, wind speeds are 200 miles per-hour and increasing. If it keeps up, this could become an EF-5 tornado." Cisco began to add once the communications was confirmed to be active. "It's headed towards the city," Barry yelled over the growing winds, "How do I stop it? Guys?" But the trio grew silent, looking towards each other for help. "Any bright ideas?" Diana covered her mic.

After a much too long moment of silence, Barry finally carried an idea of his own, "What if I unravel it?" Caitlin stared at the screen as if the very idea was crazy, impossible. "How the hell are you planning to do that?"

"Run around it," Barry explained, "in the opposite direction. Cut off its legs."

Lowly Cisco spoke to the two women next to him yet still talked loud enough for Barry to hear him, "He'd have to clock at 700 mph to pull that off."

"Barry," Diana butted in, "Look if you do this... Your body may not be able to handle those speeds. There's a high chance that you'll die."

"I have to try."

His vitals went up. Barry spend around the hurricane in wild abandon. If he couldn't do this, them they will die, the city and his family.

Back in the Cortex Cisco released a chuckle, "The suits holding up." And Caitlin gave him a sideways glance as she checked both her's and Diana's screen obsessively, "But he's not." Cisco, not as restless as his co worker, looked towards his individual screen with folded hands. "He can do it. I know he can do it."

Diana's eyes remained on her own screen, sitting down with her arms crossed over her chest in an uncaring manner before Caitlin's restlessness finally reached the brink of her annoyance and Diana grabbed her hand to pull Caitlin to a chair. "Have a little faith," She said, "After all, we didn't keep him alive for nine months just to have him die now."

Caitlin stared at her own screen where it showed Barry's dangerously alarming vitals and she silently praised that they wouldn't be the cause of the death of someone else.

Barry ran as fast his feet could take him, but try as he might, in the presence of the spreading dirt, wild in the air, he couldn't see. Couldn't see where he was going and most importantly couldn't see the lightning being thrown his way that knocked him off the path of the growing tornado. "It's too strong!" He yelled. Joe was here, on the ground looking frightened and disbelieving, were they going to die here?

"It's time to think big!" Mardon cried out in all of his disillusions.

Maybe it was time to give up. He was an idiot to believe that he could do this. He wasn't a hero. The lightning bolt didn't choose him, he was only struck by chance. This never could have worked.

From the inside of S.T.A.R Labs, Wells rolled in on his chair as if he had been there the entire time. Moving towards Cisco, he put himself close to the mic and spoke in a slow encouraging manner.

"You were right. I created this madness. But you can stop it. You are more than your speed. You can do this. Now get up Barry and run!"

Barry ran back into the eye of the store, a new sense of vigor lifting into his being as he listened to Wells words give him confidence. He ran and ran and ran, rushing in a circle around Mardon as the wind only served to give him a higher acceleration.

He could feel his bones tire in exhaustion at the stress he was putting on his body, not sure how long he could keep running. When finally the wind died out. The tornado unraveled and Mardon screeched as his creation of destruction was ending before it could even begin to inflict its destruction and all those at S.T.A.R Labs could hear was silence.

"Barry?"

From where he was, Barry could barely stand but Clyde Mardon was fully functional as he slowly walked towards Barry. "Hey! I didn't think there was anyone else like me." It was clear that he had exhausted his own power, he stumbled and staggered every couple of steps; but he didn't need power for what he was about to do. All he needed was the gun in his hand as he pointed towards Barry Allen's uncovered face.

"I'm not like you," Barry told him, "You're a murderer."

That had caused Mardon to smile, a drunk expression on his face and Barry prepared himself for Mardon to shoot the bullet, too exhausted to run away. Mardon will pull the trigger, he would have pull the trigger if it wasn't for one Joe West.

The firing of two gunshots hit the air and flew straight into Mardon, Barry looked back, back behind himself, back where his foster father was standing. "Barry?" He heard from the communicator.

"It's over," He said, "I'm okay." Diana released a chuckle to herself, Central City finally had its own hero. It's about damn time.

And finally, everyone could breathe.

 **Okay, so I know I posted Chapter 1 a long time ago and I will honestly admit that I don't update frequently. However, if you want more frequent updates then please leave comments, likes, and questions. If you show me that you like this story and you want me to continue updating this (frequently I might add) then I will, even if slowly, update more often.**

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